1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the type of conventional toilet seat assembly which has both a hinged seat and cover assembly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A common problem with conventional toilet seat assemblies of the aforementioned type is that the seat is often left in its upright position after use, thereby resulting in an unattractive appearance as well as requiring the next user to return the seat to its lowered position. Numerous toilet seat lowering and lifting devices are known in the prior art, but each of them suffers from one or more among various drawbacks such as difficulty of installation, high cost, frequent malfunctioning, limited accessability for cleaning purposes, unattractive appearance, etc. Some prior art devices require a specialized toilet construction. Other prior art devices may be installed on existing equipment, but many such prior art devices require substantial modifications of the existing equipment to which they are attached. Often such modifications are such that, when the device is removed, permanent damage results.
Among the seat lowering devices of the prior art is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,236,466 to Cashwell. This patent discloses an automatic seat lowering device which is activated by opening the bathroom door. In this way the seat is lowered when the user exits the facility. The mechanism is primarily for outdoor application.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,563,095 to Beyrodt discloses an electrically driven mechanism wherein a push button assembly activates a solenoid which causes the seat to be lowered. A spring arrangement causes the seat to move back to an open, vertical position where it is sterilized by ultraviolet radiation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,504,385 to Fields discloses a toilet seat lifter which is operated by a foot pedal. The foot pedal is connected to a lever assembly which has a right angle rod at its opposite end, said right angle rod being connected to the underside of the toilet seat. When the foot pedal is depressed, the toilet seat is raised to a position short of vertical. Constant force is necessarily applied to the foot pedal to prevent the lowering of the seat, unless the seat is manually placed past the vertical position. A hydraulic cylinder may be employed so that when force is removed from the foot pedal, the seat gradually descends to its lowered position.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,095 to Clifton, et al. discloses a double action toilet seat lifting and lowering device operated by means of a foot pedal. Depressing the foot pedal both raises and lowers the seat, the latter occurring with the aid of gravity and a cushioning mechanism.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,195,372 to Farina discloses an automatic seat return device which comprises a leaf spring assembly which is attached to the pintle rod of the hinge mechanism of the toilet seat at a centrally arcuately-bent portion. Two leaf portions extend outwardly from the central arcuately-bent portion and engage the seat cover and seat to provide resiliency therebetween.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,402,092 to Smallwood discloses a spring-biased device attached to a hinged toilet seat which urges the seat to either its upright or horizontal position. The device also has a gear-driven shaft and a clutch which operate to adjust the rate of ascent or descent of the seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,551,866 to Hibbs discloses an automatic seat lowering device including a cylinder and piston assembly. When the toilet seat is manually raised to the vertical position, the piston is pulled upwardly and thereby compresses a spring. The compressed spring in turn urges the piston to return to the lower position. A retarding mechanism is employed so as to delay this lowering until the user is finished.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an unobtrusive, inexpensive, easily installable device for the automatic lowering of conventional toilet seats of the aforementioned type.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an automatic seat lowering device which is simple in construction and can be easily removed without damage to the toilet seat assembly.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when read with reference to the accompanying drawings.